Cash only' now for Vatican tourists

By Frances D’Emilio, Associated Press

Friday, January 4, 2013

VATICAN CITY — It’s “cash only” now for tourists at the Vatican wanting to pay for museum tickets, souvenirs and other services after Italy’s central bank decided to block electronic payments, including credit cards, at the tiny city-state.

Deutsche Bank Italia, which for some 15 years had provided the Vatican with electronic payment services, said Thursday that the Bank of Italy had pulled its authorization to do so after Dec. 31.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that the Italian central bank took the action because the Holy See has not yet fully complied with European Union safeguards against money laundering. That means Italian banks are not authorized to operate within the Vatican, which is in the process of improving its mechanisms to combat laundering.

The Vatican says it’s scrambling to solve the problem for thousands of visitors who flock to its very popular Vatican Museums, which include highlights like the Sistine Chapel. The Holy See had no immediate comment on the Bank of Italy’s reported reasons.

The central bank also would not comment on the situation.

Tourists in the long lines Thursday that snaked around Vatican City walls into the museums entrance were not happy about the inconvenience.

“It’s certainly a disadvantage,” said Giuseppe Amoruso, an Italian. “Credit cards provide a useful service, which needs to be accessible to everybody, everywhere.”

“A lot of tourists don’t have cash on them, so they have to get euros and don’t know where to get them,” said Fluger William Hunter, an American tourist.

The Vatican has been striving to upgrade its measures to detect and discourage money laundering, hiring a Swiss expert on the subject a few months ago. Last summer, the Holy See passed a key European financial transparency test but received failing grades for its financial watchdog agency and its bank, formally called the Institute for Religious Works.

Determined to crack down on money laundering, especially from Italian-based organized crime groups, Italy has tightened its own rules over the last years.

The museums, with their entrance fees and popular souvenir shops, are a big money-maker for the Vatican. Other Vatican attractions, such as tours of the Vatican’s ancient underground spaces, also charge admission.